Diverse Independent Board

SFI® Inc. is governed by the 18-member SFI Board, which sets SFI’s strategic direction and is responsible for overseeing and improving the internationally recognized SFI Program and SFI Standards. The Board’s three chambers represent environmental, social and economic sectors equally.

SFI Board members include executive-level representatives of conservation organizations, academic institutions, aboriginal/tribal entities, family forest owners, public officials, labor and the forest products industry. This diversity reflects the variety of interests in the forestry community.

ENVIRONMENTAL SECTOR

Board members representing the environmental sector, which includes non-profit environmental or conservation organizations:

SOCIAL SECTOR

Board members representing the social sector, which includes community or social interest groups such as universities, labor, family forest owners or government agencies:

ECONOMIC SECTOR

Board members representing the economic sector, which includes the forest, paper and wood products industry or other for-profit forest ownership or management entities:

President and CEO, Graphic Packaging Holding Company

Chief of the Cooks Ferry Indian Band, Merritt, British Columbia, and President Stuwix Resources Joint Venture

Board Member Bios

Mark Rodgers, PhD, CEC, RODP (SFI Chair)

President and CEO, Habitat for Humanity Canada

Mark Rodgers has been involved with Habitat for Humanity since 2000 in various capacities — first working as the director of development at Habitat for Humanity Waterloo and then as executive director for Habitat for Humanity Brant. Mark has been recognized with awards for civic and social leadership.

Mark created and implemented a national strategy for directing and supporting Habitat for Humanity’s 58 affiliates in Canada. He also played a key role in establishing a memorandum of understanding between Habitat for Humanity Canada and SFI. This agreement is helping to inspire SFI Implementation Committees to participate in Habitat builds and for Habitat to use wood products certified to SFI Standards.

Mark’s leadership role as community builder is an invaluable asset for SFI as it works to encourage community sustainability across North America.

Guy Gleysteen (SFI Vice Chair)

Senior Vice President, Production for Meredith Corp.

Guy is responsible for the global production operations for the legacy Time Inc. brands overseeing teams in the U.S., U.K., India, and Hong Kong. In his production role, Guy oversees pre-media content production for print and tablet editions, manufacturing operations, procurement services, distribution operations, and production technologies for Time Inc.

Guy also guides the sustainability strategies of the Production Division. In that capacity Guy is a member of the Board of Directors and Vice Chair of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. SFI Inc. is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management. He is also the Chairman of the Board for GreenBlue, a nonprofit organization that works with businesses to make materials more sustainable.

Prior to being named Senior Vice President in 2007, Guy was the Director of Paper & Digital Development for Time Inc. where he was responsible for directing the company’s global paper procurement operations and the production technology team. Guy has an extensive background in magazine production and supporting technologies. He served in numerous operational and management roles including Director of Print for Time Inc. and Production Director at Fortune magazine.

Craig Armstrong (SFI Secretary-Treasurer)

President and CEO of Millar Western Forest Products Ltd.

Craig Armstrong is a respected forest sector executive with more than 35 years of experience, including senior executive, operating and marketing positions. Craig is currently serving as the Chair of the Alberta Forest Products Association. He has a strong interest in the recruitment of youth to the forestry sector, and the industry’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

Millar Western is an Alberta-based company with three sawmills and one pulp mill. The company sources the majority of its timber from publicly-owned forests, all of which are certified to the SFI standard.

Craig plays an important role in helping SFI link responsible forest practices with sustainable, market-based approaches. His work on the Board is helping SFI explore market-based approaches to improved environmental, economic and social outcomes. His interest in youth recruitment also supports SFI’s community outreach efforts.

Robert Abernethy

President, Longleaf Alliance

Highly regarded for his decades of involvement with a range of wildlife and land management issues, Robert Abernethy became president of the Longleaf Alliance in 2012. Prior to that he held a senior position with the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Longleaf restoration is at the forefront of conservation efforts on private land in the U.S. The mission of the Longleaf Alliance is to ensure a sustainable future for the longleaf pine ecosystem through partnerships, landowner assistance and science-based education and outreach.

Robert makes a strong contribution to SFI’s efforts to influence the discussion about how to engage large private landowners.

Craig Blair

President and CEO, Resource Management Service LLC

Resource Management Service LLC, is a privately held timberland investment firm serving pension funds, endowments, foundations and family offices.

Craig has direct responsibility for the company's investments and operating businesses in the United States, Australia, Brazil, China and New Zealand. He is chair of the company's Board of Managers and Investment Committee, leading an experienced team of forestry and financial professionals that manage a global timberland portfolio of over $4.5 billion. Over a 29-year career, Craig has held a variety of positions at RMS and with the forest products industry, with experience in resource planning, forest management and wood procurement.

Steve Bullard

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs
Henry M. Rockwell Chair of Forestry
Stephen F. Austin State University

As a faculty member and administrator, Steve has pub­lished more than 130 articles and manuscripts, and coauthored a book on forest valuation and invest­ment analysis. He has taught numerous workshops on forest economics and related topics, and has served as an associate editor for Forest Science, the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, and the Southern Journal of Applied Forestry. Steve is a Fellow of the Society of American Foresters, and is a member of the Forest Products Society, the Forest Landowners Association, and the Texas Forestry Association.

As the immediate past President of the National Association of University Forest Resources Pro­grams, Steve has been at the forefront of identifying research priorities and establishing collaborative partnerships to address them. Steve is instrumental in SFI’s efforts to elevate conservation values and its role as a thought leader on forestry issues.

Dr. Skeet (A.G.) Burris

Skeet Burris and his family own the 2,700 acre (1,092 hectare) Cypress Bay Plantation in Hampton County, South Carolina. He has won many national, state and local conservation and forestry awards.

Skeet and his family bought an abandoned farm in 1986, and turned it into a model for tree farmers. Skeet has worked with organizations such as Quail Unlimited, the Quality Deer Management Association, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the South Carolina Waterfowl Association, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Clemson University's Extension Service. He has worked tirelessly to improve wildlife habitat on the farm, making it a popular hunting location.

Skeet brings valuable experience in wildlife management and private land ownership to the SFI Board.

Daniel P. Christensen

Dan is Director of HNRG's Board of Directors. Prior to this role, Dan was Chief Executive Officer of the Hancock Natural Resource Group, and President of the Hancock Timber Resource Group.

Before joining Hancock in1992, Dan was vice president and general manager of a major forest products company in the U.S. Northeast. Dan also serves on the Board of National Alliance of Forest Owners.

Dan is committed to advancing national policies that promote the economic and environmental benefits of privately-owned forests. He plays a key role in SFI’s work to support sustainable forest communities.

Michael P. Doss

President and CEO, Graphic Packaging Holding Company

Graphic Packaging is a leading provider of packaging solutions to a wide variety of companies in the food, beverage and other consumer products sectors. With over $4.4 billion in sales, it is one of the largest global producers of folding cartons and it holds a leading market position in coated-unbleached kraft and coated-recycled paper board.

Mike has held several positions of commercial and operational leadership during his 25-year career with Graphic Packaging. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer in November 2013, taking responsibility for the global expansion and re-focusing of Graphic Packaging’s portfolio. In May 2015, Mike was named President and CEO and was elected to the board of directors.

Mike serves on the board of directors for the American Forest & Paper Association, the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and on the Paper and Packaging Board’s Check-off campaign. He is also active in the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

Laura Downey

Laura Downey, a former Chicago public school teacher, holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction for math, science and technology. She began her career in environmental education in 1996. At KACEE, a non-profit that provides quality, non-biased, science-based conservation and environmental education, Laura has helped ignite a network of volunteers to educate schoolchildren and spread the reach of PLT. Laura also serves as the Kansas PLT State Coordinator.

PLT is an award-winning environmental education program that uses trees and forests as windows on the world to increase youth understanding of the environment and actions they can take to conserve it. PLT was incorporated into the SFI Program in July 2017. PLT has consistently received prestigious awards and recognition from leading educational and community organizations.

PLT’s integration into SFI provides an opportunity for the program to expand its reach and impact. SFI’s role as a sustainability leader will be bolstered by Laura’s PLT role and expertise in education, an increasing focus in SFI’s community engagement work.

Karla Guyn

CEO, Ducks Unlimited Canada

Ducks Unlimited Canada is the country’s leading wetland conservation organization. Its history spans 78 years, which is marked by conservation achievements in every province and territory. Since its inception in 1938, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 6.4 million acres/2.6 million hectares across the country through nearly 9,900 habitat projects. It is powered by a grassroots conservation community made up of more than 130,000 people who are taking conservation action to support wetlands, wildlife and people.

During her 20-year career, Karla has established herself as a respected international conservation leader.

Karla’s love for wetlands and waterfowl first brought her to Ducks Unlimited in 1994 as a summer student. Over the years, she advanced through the organization, working on a variety of national and regional conservation programs. Prior to becoming CEO, she served as the organization’s National Director of Conservation

To this day, nothing motivates her more than conserving the natural world. Karla firmly believes SFI and Ducks Unlimited have an opportunity like never before to foster positive change for wetlands, for forests, for wildlife and for our communities.

John M. Hagan III

President, Manomet

John Hagan is an award-winning member of the society of American Foresters and the Society for Conservation Biology. John became President of Manomet in Manomet, Massachusetts in 2008. Manomet is a non-profit that works to build a sustainable world. It takes a non-advocacy approach to science to encourage policy makers and the public to make well-informed decisions.

With a series of grants from the National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry, John helped develop a simple, science-based approach to selecting sustainability indicators that include society's economic, social and environmental values.

John’s leadership helps SFI maintain its objective, science-based approach as it works to ensure forest health.

Jon Haufler

The Wildlife Society has 10,000 members. For more than 75 years, it has been influencing the future of wildlife and wild places for the benefit of generations to come. The Ecosystem Management Research Institute is an independent non-profit institute that specializes in conducting large-scale conservation planning using an ecosystem-based approach.

John’s leadership roles in these two organizations is augmented by the 14 years he spent as a professor of wildlife ecology at Michigan State University.

John plays a key role in SFI’s efforts to take an ecosystem-based approach to sustainable forestry.

Bob Matters

Chair, United Steelworkers Union of Canada Wood Council

Bob Matters experience in the forest industry began in 1977 when he worked for Galloway Lumber in South Eastern British Columbia. There he became active in the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) union. Bob worked full time for the Local from 1992, was elected President in 1994 and in 2006 he was elected to the position of Chair of the Steelworkers Wood Council.

He is responsible for the forestry and forest products sector of the United Steelworkers Union with membership from BC to Ontario. Bob was a member of the merger committee that that created the merger of IWA Canada and the United Steelworkers. He has also served on a number of private and public boards.

Bob’s in-depth understanding of the labor dynamics of the forest sector gives SFI an important window into the economic sustainability of forest communities.

Bettina Ring

Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry

Bettina Ring is the Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. Ring oversees three agencies: the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Forestry, and the Virginia Racing Commission.

As Virginia's State Forester, Bettina and her team were responsible for protecting 22 state forests. Prior to becoming State Forester, Bettina served as Senior Vice President of Family Forests at the American Forest Foundation. At the foundation she was responsible for overseeing the American Tree Farm System®, supporting more than 80,000 family forest owners who collectively manage 27 million acres of certified woodlands.

Bettina has worked in various leadership positions within nonprofit organizations focusing on natural resources management and conservation, including the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts, The Wilderness Land Trust and the Bay Area Open Space Council.

SFI values its long-standing and close partnership with State Foresters and benefits from having State Foresters on its Board. Bettina brings her valuable perspective as a public land manager and a wealth of experience working with family forest owners.

Chief David Walkem

Stuwix Resources Joint Venture is a forest management enterprise that manages a forest license for eight shareholder Indian Bands in the Interior of British Columbia. Dave has won several awards recognizing his achievements combining environmentalism and forestry.

He has been the Chief of the Cooks Ferry Indian Band since 1990, and is the Vice-Chair of the Nicola Similkameen Innovative Forestry Society, which oversees the planning for six Innovative Forestry Practices Agreements held by major licensees in the Merritt Timber Supply Area.

Dave played a key role in the SFI 2015-2019 Standards and Rules revision process. His input helped enhance existing SFI forest management requirements aimed at respecting tribal and aboriginal rights on public and private lands.

Gail Wallin

Co-Chair of the Canadian Council on Invasive Species
Executive Director, Invasive Species Council of British Columbia

Gail’s deep experience in the environmental sector goes back to the mid-1990s. She is Co-Chair of the Canadian Council on Invasive Species which works collaboratively across jurisdictional boundaries to support actions and information that can help reduce the threat and impacts of invasive species. Gail works closely with the forest sector and others to help ensure industry is equipped and able to demonstrate leadership in reducing the spread of invasive species.

Gail is a widely recognized facilitator and educator on natural resource management and community issues in Canada. She has organized and facilitated public advisory groups to achieve joint solutions on complex resource management issues including land use planning processes, park management plans, senior policy development and a wide range of local community initiatives.

Her ability to bring disparate groups together to work for sustainable forestry solutions is an important asset for SFI.